Happy Valentine's Day
by PenguinsOfMadagascar
Summary: This is just a short Valentine's Day story about Alex's and Kowalski's first Valentine's together. I hope you all like this story! Read and review! Rated K. Romance/Friendship. Complete!


**Disclaimer: I do not own the Penguins of Madagascar, but I do own Alex, Sam, and Ethan in this story. I also own Emily, but she's only mentioned in this story; she doesn't make an appearance.**

**Note: I was trying to decide if I should write a Valentine's Day story, but in the end, I thought it would be fun to write a story about Alex's and Kowalski's first Valentine's Day. I'm not a real big fan of the Holiday myself. I haven't wrote a story for a while though, so I figure I probably should. I hope you all like this short story!**

* * *

While the penguin team was topside, entertaining the humans, Alex was pacing the lair. She was deep in thought, trying to think of something to get her boyfriend for Valentine's Day. She knew people usually gave their loved ones chocolate for this Holiday, but she had no way to get any. For a second, the female penguin thought maybe she could ask Rico if he had a heart shaped case full of chocolates in his bottomless stomach, but she pushed that idea out of her head when she realized the box might get wet from being in his belly.

Alex came to a halt and sighed. "I have no idea what to get him," she murmured out loud as she shook her head in frustration.

"How about a card?"

Alex jumped in surprised when she heard her half-sister's voice. She spun around to see Sam climbing out of the secret entrance that was usually hidden by the fish trophy. Alex didn't know that she was so deep in thought that she hadn't realize Sam had left. She thought her sister was just watching the Lunacorns.

Glancing over her shoulder, Alex saw the show still going on. She turned back to Sam and asked her," Were you with Ethan?"

Suddenly Sam looked embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh...yeah," she stammered, but then she shook her head as a defensive look appeared on her face. "I don't have to feel guilty. Skipper and Julien gave us permission to hang out!"

Alex walked over to her half-sister and put her flipper on her shoulder. "I'm not accusing you of anything," she said gently. Wanting to get Sam's mind off of the young prince, Alex went on," You said I should gave Kowalski a card. Where did you come up with that idea?"

"Ethan and I were in the park, and we spotted two humans sitting on a blanket or something," Sam explained. "They were eating, and we decided to watch them for a while because we thought it was cute. It wasn't long until they gave each other cards. They looked really happy to receive such a gift, so maybe Kowalski will be, too." She shrugged as she looked up at her older sister.

Rubbing the bottom of her beak, Alex started thinking about what Sam said. _It's worth a shot,_ she thought as she turned her back on her sister._ I have to use simple words so he'll be able to read it._

She remembered that she's been teaching Kowalski how to read since Christmas, and he was making impressive improvement. So far, he only knew simple words, but she thought he'd be reading like her in no time. She was glad that she had learned how to read on her journey to find her father.

She started making her way to the lab, knowing she could find some paper there so she could make the card before Skipper and his team got back into HQ. She didn't want to risk Kowalski finding out what she was doing.

Footsteps behind her told her that her half-sister was following her. Alex came to a halt and turned back to Sam. "Yes?" she asked, not meaning to sound rube, but she had hoped to work on the card by herself.

"Do you think I should make Ethan a card?" Sam asked unexpectedly as she looked down at her webbed feet. "I mean, I'm not sure what our relationship is, but he's still a very good friend, and I don't want him to think I forgot about him on this special day." She glanced back up at Alex, who was trying to hide her surprise.

She always knew the two young animals were close, but she never thought that her sister would want to give the lemur prince a gift on Valentine's Day. Sam always got upset if someone pointed out that they would make a cute couple. Did she realize if she made something for Ethan that would only make everyone want to say they are perfect for each other? But still, Alex couldn't say this out loud because she knew if she did, Sam would shut down and refuse to make anything for Ethan, which might ruin the day for both of them.

"I'm sure he would love that," Alex said as she smiled at Sam. "Come on, we can work on our cards together." The two sisters disappeared into the lab side by side.

* * *

For some reason, Kowalski was distracted today. He couldn't put his all in as his friends and he tried to be cute around the humans. When he tried to waddle around the island so he could get the people's attention, he tripped over his own feet and landed on the hard platform. He pushed himself into a sitting position as he let out a sigh. He knew today was Valentine's Day, and he would usually let today go by without even thinking about it. But this year was different.

It was his and Alex's first Valentine's together, and he wanted to make it special. He just had no idea how to do that. He was smart when it came to making inventions and giving options to his leader. However, when it came to romance, he knew next to nothing about that subject. He sighed again, wondering if Alex was planning to do anything for him.

Suddenly he realized Skipper was beside him, putting out his flipper to help the strategist up. Kowalski reached for it, and the next thing he knew, he was being lifted up and then he was standing beside his leader.

"What's wrong with you today?" Skipper asked as he studied the tall penguin.

Clearing his throat a little, Kowalski instantly decided to tell his leader what was on his mind. "I'm just worried about today," he told him, as his eyes looked down at the concrete. "I know I should get Alex something, but I just don't know what."

Before Skipper could reply, the youngest member of the team came waddling up. "I know humans gave their partners chocolates. How about you give her some?" Private smiled up at Kowalski.

Rico appeared next to his friends as he nodded his agreement, choking out," Yeah! Yeah!"

At first the leader of the group was silent as he rubbed his head as if lost in thought. Kowalski thought what the private said was a good idea, but he wanted to see what Skipper thought about it.

"Perhaps after the zoo closes, we can go into town to get her some chocolate?" Skipper turned to Kowalski, who nodded his agreement.

The tall penguin glanced up at the clock, glad to see that the zoo would be closing soon. He was suddenly excited about getting Alex something, and he found himself unable to stay still. He started waddling across the platform, glad to see that he didn't trip this time. He decided to jump into the water to give the humans a performance so they could give the penguins some fish. He thought maybe having a plan about what to get Alex had calmed his mind, because he was able to swim around in the water with no problem.

Private soon joined him in the water, and they swam together. Kowalski spotted the other two members of the team waddling around the island. He was relieved when the people let out a long," Aww." Then they started throwing fish at the penguins, and Kowalski and Private jumped out of the water to eat their share.

It wasn't long until the clock on the tower started going off. The humans around the penguin habitat started making their way toward the zoo entrance. Kowalski watched as they left, jumping from foot to foot as he realize that the team could leave soon to get Alex's gift.

As soon as the last of the people disappeared through the gates and one of the zookeepers closed the entrance before turning to go to another part of the zoo, Skipper lifted his flipper. "Come on, boys," he said as he pointed toward the clock tower. "Let's begin Operation: Getting Alex a Valentine's Day Gift."

His team nodded and followed him out of the habitat, doing flips over the gates that surrounded the exhibit. Then they began to make their way to the zoo entrance. Kowalski was so excited that he could hardly stay still, but he forced himself to relax as the penguins jumped into the air and kicked off one of the walls of the tower, using it to bounce to the other side. They kept this up until they landed in front of the clock, and then they disappeared out of the zoo.

* * *

When the clock tower went off, the young prince jumped in surprised. But he relaxed when he realized that it was only the signal that would tell the humans the zoo was closing. Ethan glanced up at the wall, just seeing the heads of the people as they walked past the lemur habitat.

"Maybe now I can think of something to get Sam," the lemur murmured to himself as he started walking to the bouncy. He always got the best ideas when he was relaxing.

_Perhaps the Sky Spirits will be kind to me and send me an idea of a gift I could give Sam, _Ethan thought as he climbed onto the bounce-house.

It wasn't long until he started hearing voices. The prince looked up to see his father and his two subjects walking toward the bouncy. It looked like Julien was telling something to his adviser, and a moment later, Maurice nodded and then walked off to another part of the habitat. Mort was still by his side though as the king came to a halt beside the bouncy.

"Hey, Ethan!" the king called to his son.

Ethan looked over the edge and stared down at his father. "Yes?" he asked, feeling annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted, but he knew he couldn't yell at Julien.

Julien jumped onto the bouncy and landed next to his son. "Are you going to get anything for Sam?" he asked unexpectedly. "I mean," he added quickly," I think it's disgusting how you two hang out. A penguin and lemur having something more than a friendship." He snorted the last few words, and Ethan felt like there was something hidden behind those words.

He was suddenly reminded that a long time ago it had been revealed that Alex, Skipper's daughter, was Julien's perfect match. Maurice had told him that, and the aye-aye told him that the king had started laughing as if he thought just the idea was the funniest thing ever. Ethan thought it had seemed obvious that Julien didn't have any feelings for Alex that way. He knew the only reason the king tried to get to her is so he could have another subject, because she had promised to always be his loyal follower. Skipper tries to keep them apart though, not liking that his daughter had made such a promise.

"I was thinking about it," Ethan finally replied to his father, but he felt the need to add," But I'm not sure what we are. I don't think we are quite together, but I still want to get her something for Valentine's."

Julien rolled his eyes, but surprisingly he didn't say anything about Sam's and Ethan's complicated relationship. Instead he said," I think I know something you could get her."

"Really?" Ethan blinked in surprised. Did his father want Ethan to give Sam a gift?

"Yes," Julien replied, but he sounded like he regretted saying what he did. But the king didn't back down, and he went on," I know penguins don't like fruit for some reason." He shrugged and for a moment looked confused, but a second later the expression vanished. "Maybe you could make her a heart out of fruit?"

Ethan thought about this, and he briefly wondered if it was too bold. He never told Sam how he felt about her, but he had a feeling that she already knew. _And it is Valentine's Day,_ he told himself. _Maurice told me that people usually got heart shaped stuff on this holiday, no matter their relationship._

"You think she'd like that?" Ethan asked his father, but Julien just shrugged. "I guess it's worth a try," the prince decided.

Julien looked down at the ground at where Mort still stood. "Go help Maurice bring plenty of fruit over here so Ethan can work on making it into a heart," he ordered the Mouse Lemur, and Mort ran to the other side of the habitat.

"Why are you doing this?" Ethan turned to Julien. "I thought you didn't like how close Sam and I are."

Julien sighed. "Yeah, but I promised your mother that I'd keep you safe and happy," he said as he petted Ethan's head, messing up the young ring-tailed lemur's fur.

Chucking a little, Ethan used his hands to push down his hair as his father went on. "I keep having dreams about Emily telling me that I shouldn't come in between you and that penguin." The king suddenly frowned as his eyes looked across the habitat.

Ethan noticed that the other two lemurs were starting to head back with a bunch of fruit. He turned back to his father as he asked him," You really miss her, don't you?"

"I do," Julien admitted. "I know you were too young to remember much about her," he added as he glanced down at his son. "But she was the sweetest and caringest lemur ever."

Ethan held back a laugh when his father said "caringest". He wanted to tell him that word didn't exist, but the sad look on Julien's face stopped him. "I'm sure she's thinking of us right now," the young prince told him. "I wish I could remember her, but I know she loved me very much and still does. And I'm sure she still loves you too," he added as he looked into his father's eyes.

The king was silent for a moment, and when he spoke he wasn't talking about Emily anymore. "Come on, let's make Sam the bestest gift ever." He jumped off of the bouncy, and his son followed him.

_I hope Sam likes this Valentine's gift,_ Ethan thought as he stopped in front of the pile of fruit that Maurice and Mort put on the ground. The four lemurs started working together to make the present for Sam.

* * *

Once the cards were done, the two sisters waited around until the penguin team got back. Alex thought they should be back by now. The zoo's been closed for a while, but there was still no sign of them. She had went topside to see if she could spot them. However, the habitat was empty and she didn't see her father or the other three.

Now Sam sat in front of the TV and watched the Lunacorns while Alex paced the lair. She wasn't sure how much time went by until she heard the hatch bring pushed aside. She expected to see her father, but instead Ethan dropped through the hole. He started walking to Alex, dipping his head to her in greeting.

Instead of saying anything to the young prince, Alex turned to her half-sister and called to her," You have company, Sam."

Sam turned around, her eyes sparkling when they landed on Ethan. The young penguin jumped to her feet and ran to her friend. "Hey, Ethan!" she said in an excited voice, and Alex wondered if she was thrilled about giving him a Valentine's gift.

"Hi, Sam." A smile formed on the lemur's face. "I wanted you to come with me to my habitat so I can show you something."

"Sure. But I need to show you something first." Sam ran into Kowalski's lab and then reappeared a moment later with her flippers behind her back. When she got to Ethan, she handed him the card, and Ethan looked down at it, his smile getting bigger as his eyes sparkled.

"It says 'Happy Valentine's Day'," Alex told the young prince. She pointed to the bottom of the pink-and-red card. "That says 'Love Sam'." Alex swallowed a laugh when she remembered that she had to convince her sister to write "love" instead of "from".

Ethan suddenly threw his arms around Sam. "It's just lovely!" he exclaimed as he let go of Sam.

It was obvious Sam was happy to hear that Ethan liked her card, but it looked like she was trying to calm herself. "So what did you want to show me?" she asked as a huge grin appeared on her beak.

"Oh yeah." Ethan grabbed onto Sam's flipper. "Come with me." He dragged her to the ladder, and the two disappeared through the hole.

After a long moment, Alex decided to follow them. She grabbed her card that she was going to give Kowalski, in case she ran into the tall penguin, and then she left the HQ. She glanced around, and spotted her sister and Ethan jumping into the lemur habitat. She ran after them, jumping over the gates that were around the penguin habitat.

Alex landed on the platform when she hopped over the brick wall. She glanced up at the tall throne, and her mind quickly went to the lemur king.

As if her thoughts called him, Julien jumped up beside her. "Oh, hello my penguin subject," he said as he smiled down at Alex.

"Hey, my king." She dipped her head to Julien. Then she glanced around and spotted Ethan leading Sam toward the bouncy. From up here, Alex could see a heart made out of fruit. She giggled to herself when she saw her sister stare at her gift. Sam suddenly gave an excited jump, and then she wrapped her flippers around Ethan. Alex could see that Sam said something to her friend, but she was too far away to hear what she said. She was just glad to see that Sam seemed to like the present.

"Ya know, it was my idea."

Alex jumped at her king's voice. She had forgot Julien was beside her for a second. She turned to him in surprised when he said that. "Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Julien nodded. "I still don't like how close those two are," he added as he pointed toward his son and Sam," but I just want to make Ethan happy, and he seemed to be at his happiest when he's around your sister."

Alex nodded in agreement, but she said nothing.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Julien broke the silence. He pointed to the card in Alex's flipper as he asked," Is that for the smart penguin?"

"Yes," Alex replied as she glanced down at the card. "I hope he likes it."

"I'm sure he will." Julien smiled at Alex. Then he looked up as a voice called to him. "I got to go," the king said quickly as he began to walk away. "Maurice is calling to me. See you around, my subject." And with that, the lemur jumped to the ground and vanished from Alex's sight.

Alex was alone on the platform for a moment, but then she heard a very familiar voice call her name. She turned around to see the four penguins jump into the lemur habitat. It had been Kowalski who had called to his girlfriend. Alex suddenly was curious when she noticed that tall penguin had his flippers behind his back.

"Where have you all been?" she asked as she glanced around the team, but her eyes went back to her boyfriend a moment later.

"We went into town to help Kowalski find you something for Valentine's Day," Private explained as Rico let out a few agreeing grunts.

Skipper took a step forward until he was standing in front of his daughter. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "We looked for you and Sam at HQ, but you weren't there."

"Ethan came by and told Sam that he had a present for her." Alex gestured to where the two animals still stood on the ground, looking down at the heart made out of fruit. She giggled a little when she noticed Sam was leaning on Ethan. Maybe she was finally expecting that they were made for each other, but Alex knew it wasn't that simple. Sam didn't like admitting her feelings, and Alex knew it was gonna take a lot more than a Valentine's gift for Sam to tell Ethan that she liked him.

The four penguins looked over the edge of the platform.

"Aw, that's so cute!" Private giggled as he clapped his flippers together.

However, Skipper rolled his eyes and grumbled," It's not cute. It's disgusting. A penguin and lemur can't have feelings for each other."

"Why not?" Alex challenged her father, and Skipper turned to her sharply, but before he could say anything, Kowalski stepped in between the father and daughter.

"That's not important today," the tall penguin pointed out. "It's Valentine's Day. Love is in the air. You know Sam isn't gonna admit her feelings for Ethan," he added to Skipper, who rolled his eyes again, but the leader didn't say anything as he stormed over to Private and Rico.

Then Kowalski turned back to Alex. "Here," he said as he handed her a box of chocolate. "Happy Valentine's Day, honey."

Alex smiled down at the heart shaped box. She opened it and picked up a chocolate, eating it quickly, before she set the box down. Then she gave Kowalski his card. He looked down at it, seeming confused about the words, but before Alex could tell him what it said, he hugged her and murmured," Thank you. I love you, too."

The female penguin hugged him back, glad that he was able to understand that the card said "Happy Valentine's Day. I love you."

The two penguins separated, and Kowalski kissed Alex on the forehead. Alex smiled up at him, as she thought, _Our first Valentine's Day was a success. I hope we are able to have plenty more in the future._

"Come on, boys," Skipper suddenly said. "Let's get back to HQ." The leader jumped out of the lemur habitat, followed by Private and Rico, but Kowalski stayed where he stood in front of Alex.

"Are you coming back, honey?" he asked his girlfriend.

"Yes," Alex replied, but before she followed Kowalski out of the habitat, she glanced once more at Sam and Ethan. She noticed that now they were sitting on the ground, deep in conversation. She didn't want to interrupt them, and she didn't see any harm of letting her sister stay with the young prince.

Alex followed Kowalski out of the habitat, and they headed toward their own home. She was thankful that today went so smoothly and that she was lucky enough to have a sweet boyfriend like Kowalski. She intertwined her flipper with his as they continued to walk to the penguin habitat.

* * *

**Please review! No flames please!**

**The End!**


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